Possibly the cheapest vaccine in the world

A SWIG of beer could one day protect you from HIV, if a US company succeeds in making an ultra-cheap vaccine out of brewer's yeast.

Alex Franzusoff and his team at GlobeImmune of Denver have added an HIV gene to yeast. When the modified yeast cells are injected into mice, they stimulate a strong response from the immune system's killer T cells. This is thought to be crucial to create an effective vaccine. The team presented its findings at the AIDS Vaccine 2001 conference in Philadelphia last week.

Because a yeast-based vaccine could be brewed up quickly and easily, it would be very cheap. Just 100 litres could provide 5 million doses.

"This is definitely the main advantage," says Margaret Johnston, head of HIV vaccine research at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Other experimental HIV vaccines could cost thousands of dollars per dose. Another bonus is ...

To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

To continue reading this article, log in or subscribe to New Scientist

App + web

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$25.99 - Save 65%

12 issues for $2.17 per issue

with continuous service

Print + web

Print

Web

$28.99 - Save 61%

12 issues for $2.42 per issue

with continuous service

Print + app + web

Print

Web

Smartphone

Tablet

$39.99 - Save 73%

12 issues for $3.33 per issue

with continuous service

Web

Web only

$49.99

30 day web pass

Prices may vary according to delivery country and associated local taxes.